Dan Hannebery is set to face GWS on Friday night as he returns to the side in a must-win contest.
The decision was made at Wednesday’s match committee meeting and confirmed on Thursday morning as per Foxfooty.com.au.
Hannebery’s return comes as a shock as the club had previously said they were happy to let him prepare for a week one finals return.
An early return to the team comes as the midfielder has trained at full capacity since leaving the transition hub and is physically ready to play.
Hannebery has not played since tearing his hamstring in Round 5 and had surgery in July.
“We got a good look at him at training this morning, so now we just have to decide what’s the best way to go,” coach Brett Ratten told reporters on Wednesday.
“When you’re here and you watch him run around and everything looks good – he’s vocal, he’s a leader of our team and he influences others – you think it would be nice to have him on board.
"But we do have to consider the other things as well,” Ratten said
Hannebery's return comes at great timing as fellow midfielder Zak Jones has suffered a hamstring injury days out from the GWS clash.
Jones' injury has been confirmed as a minor strain sustained during the loss to West Coast.
“Zak has become an important part of our midfield this year but we know that all teams are dealing with injuries to key players and we will need someone to step up and fill the void,” CEO Simon Lethlean said.
